Thursday, August 09, 2012

On the Indian Judicial System



“Why has Indian Judicial System been such a huge failure? How can we improve our Judicial System? After all, Justice Delayed is Justice Denied”

The topic in itself deals with two different issues under the umbrella of the proverb of “Justice delayed is justice denied.” If you were to go on the streets of India and ask people for their opinions on whether the judicial system has failed the country, almost 100% would agree. Not many have a positive interaction and “good” people never want to get mixed up in these sort of matters.

When one starts to examine why the Indian Judicial System has been such a failure, one has to look at what makes a good judicial system. One cannot definitely say that a system has failed, if we cannot define a system that works. An effective judicial system is one that is approachable, is speedy, is fair and most of all is just. Is the Indian system any of these, if not all? Most often the answer will be no. No doubt there are isolated cases where justice does triumph and the guilty, punished.



The reasons for the failure are dime a dozen and everyone has its own reasons. For me, I see exactly 2 reasons –
  • Apathy
  • Greed.


Apathy is the root cause of all problems that plagues our country. When it comes to the Judicial system, apathy is all around. It has now become a vicious cycle. People don’t trust the judicial system and the judicial system doesn’t care about the people.

A common man doesn’t want to be involved in the procedures of the court even though he might be a victim. Why? It starts with the fact that the victim in our judicial system has not many rights. There is no victim impact report. In fact that crime is thought to be committed against society and not against a person. A victim is not but PW1 or public witness 1. There is no place for the rehabilitation of a person who could have been affected. Restitution is a joke and used interchangeably with compensation. Approaching the court is like driving on a pot hole ridden road when the destination isn’t desirable.

This predicament of the victim becomes worse when the crime committed is that of rape. The questions asked demoralizes her and one often wonders who the culprit is.

Isn’t it apathy on part of the public, on part of the judges and the entire judicial system that we did not have a proper conclusion on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy for more than 20 years after the incident? It was probably only the media attention that got justice to the Jessica Lal murder case. These cases are mere examples of how badly things can go wrong within the Judicial System.

Greed is the second common reason for the failure of the judicial system and with greed comes corruption. In terms of corruption, the judicial system stands second only the police which is the other part of the Criminal justice system. 62% people agreed to have bribed an official of the judiciary. These bribes are paid so that cases are deferred; the guilty are let off on bail. It wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration that our judicial system is corrupt from top to bottom.

There are certain things that can be done, however, to ensure that the judicial system works as a well oiled machine that delivers justice in a humane fashion. Solutions almost always require the problems to be broken down into manageable, smaller, practical issues that can be solved individually or collectively. I am going to use that approach while looking at how we can fix the Indian Judicial System.

First, the judiciary is overcrowded and the judges are a few. This creates the issue of cases dragging on forever.  As Nani Palkhiwala observed once, the progress of a civil suit in our courts of law is the closest thing to eternity we can experience. In almost all states of India, we can see local goons using strong arm tactics to settle cases in extra judicial ways. This creates a criminal nexus which defeats the very purpose of having a judicial system. As Gladstone observed, the proper function of a government is to make it easy for the people to do good and difficult for them to do evil. The only sanction to ensure good conduct and to prevent bad behavior in society is swift punishment. This is because our laws are archaic and full of loopholes. We need better, modern and efficient laws. We need more lawyers and more judges. We need more courts and more benches. We should have fast track courts for specific type of cases.

The higher courts have taken on themselves too much, making it impossible for them to be able to render justice speedily and efficiently. The writ jurisdiction became pervasive and everything under the sun is somehow made a subject matter of the writ. For instance, the transfer of an employee in a public sector undertaking has become a matter of writ jurisdiction by very involved and dubious logic. Such absurdities undermined the authority of judiciary and caused enormous damage to public interest. To take another instance, the courts have time and again ruled that cooperatives are public institutions, and are creatures of state, whereas in fact cooperative theory and practice throughout the world clearly envisage that a cooperative is a collective private body, created to further the economic interests of the members in accordance with the principles of cooperation. This mind-set that state could intervene everywhere, and that such intervention by definition is good, ensured that the people’s institutions could not flourish in an atmosphere of freedom, self-governance and autonomy. At the same time, state’s power even to control its own employees and enforce discipline has been severely eroded. As a net result, the judicial process only helped to accelerate the decline in governance. A stronger state with stronger controls is what is essential. There needs to be a division of power in its truest form.

Local courts, village panchayats withered away because they were not maintained. What remained were the Khaps that give judgments that are detrimental to society. The hierarchy was supposed to look like a pyramid with Supreme Court as the apex. The Supreme Court, which was originally designed to consist of a chief justice and not more than 7 other judges has now been expanded to a total strength of 26.  The high courts have even larger numbers of judges. The Andhra Pradesh High Court for instance has 39 judges! All these hundreds of high court judges in effect sit as constitutional courts every day with the power of interpreting the Constitution, and quashing laws on the ground that they are unconstitutional. The need of the hour is a local system that recognizes and understands the Constitution of India, along with the local norms and traditions. When the world is obsessed and discussing restorative justice, we have been practicing it for centuries and have let it die. We need to revive it and embody it within the Indian Judicial system.

Easier judicial procedures, approachable courts, better lawyers, efficient laws is what will make our Judicial system stronger. If these challenges are not recognised immediately and if far reaching judicial reforms are not initiated with a great sense of urgency and devotion, the judiciary may also fall in public esteem endangering the whole civil society and adversely affecting the public good. The judiciary should recognise that it is an organ of state with the sole objective of serving the public in a fair, efficient and accountable manner. Its loyalty should only be for public good and speedy justice and not to the convenience of advocates or politicians or bureaucrats. We have been singularly fortunate that several outstanding judges over the decades have ensured that judiciary can function in an independent and fearless manner. The time has now come when concerted efforts should be made to make judiciary efficient and effective without usurping the functions of the other organs of state.

While we concentrate on Justice delayed is justice denied, we should also remember that justice hurried is justice buried. What needs to be the focus is law taking its own course in the most efficient manner possible. 

Word count : 1387

This post has been published by me as a part of IBL; the Battle of Blogs, sponsored by WriteupCafe.com. Join us at our official website and facebook page.




Thursday, July 26, 2012

The serial masturbator


This post starts with 4 stories, all true, all connected because of an incident, one of them mine
Story A : Girl A is travelling by a cab. She is rushing to meet friends for dinner, she is late. She, finally reaches and while on the call consoling her friends that she will be there in 10 seconds, attempts to pay the driver. She hears him mumble. She asks him to repeat. She realises that he had asked her to join him, she realises in horror that he has unzipped his pants. She looks around to see if there is anyone around. She still needs her change back. She is shocked to reply or react and he zooms off.
Story B : Girl B is going to college by train. She is alone in the first class compartment in the middle of the afternoon, meaning she was the only one around. A school boy enters and sits across her when he has the entire compartment. He starts a conversation, she has her headphones on. He touches her, maybe to get her attention, she jolts. She is uncomfortable and moves to stand near the door. He follows, attempts to  touch her again, she yells at him. He goes back and within her visual range and unzips his pants. She is shocked to respond and react. The train stops, she walks off.
Story C : Girl C is travelling in the rick. She is busy looking at her phone when suddenly the rickshaw stops, she look around for a reason for it to stop. She realised with a shock that he was stroking his penis in the middle of a road in broad daylight. She creates a huge hue and cry and manages to get the attention of a cop who intervenes only because she refuses to let the issue go. She walks off knowing that she did what was right. 
Story D : Girl D, a 15 year old was walking home one evening. A man on a cycle, stopped and asked her for directions. While she was reading the address on a paper, he held her hand and she realised that he was stroking his penis with the other hand. She was shocked and pushed him and ran. She reached home and cried. 
What do these stories have in common?
A man/a boy who couldn't keep it in his pants. And then they say we dress slutty or that women asked for it.
As I mentioned before, one of these stories is mine and having that happen to you is the worst feeling ever. Being reduced to a mere object. I thought I was the only one, that this was an isolated incident. Unfortunately, it isn't.
What makes these men so bold? How do we as women react to these situations? How do we as a society put a stop to these? 

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Thoughts and afterthoughts on slapping someone.

There comes a time in your life when you realise that you have to stand up for yourself. That moment happened to me a couple of years back and I failed myself. But you see I am a woman and I got the chance to do that once again.

I was at the train station and there was a man standing a little too close to me. He brushed against me and when I asked me to keep his distance, he called me something he shouldn't have. Instinctively, I slapped him. The whole place was a little shocked and I got my ticket and walked off. It was a stupid reaction. If I had thought about it even for a second, I wouldn't have reacted at all. I would have pretended to not hear it at all. I hate admitting it to myself. Walking toward the train, I was mad at myself. What if he followed me? What if he saw me again at the station? What if I was hurt in anyway possible? A lady came up to me that time and said that she was proud of me, she would have wanted her daughter to do the same. Would she have stood up for me if that guy came to attack me back? Would any of those people intervene?

All day long, I walked with a smile and false sense of security. Met a couple of friends. Would they stand up and fight for me, if God forbid something had happened as a reaction to my slapping him?

I am home now. Should I consider myself lucky that I am safe? Should I be careful while going to the same place again?

Despite all these thoughts, I am really glad that I did what I did. I was told I am an inspiration to all the women out there. If you aren't the one that slaps, please support the one that does? Women or men, be supportive of the one that decides to stand up for themselves. I really glad and happy that a lot of people kept asking me where I was on twitter just to make sure that I was safe. It is reassuring to know that I don't stand alone. Thank you everyone who said anything nice to me today.

Btw, it stings like hell when you slap someone.

I can't end this post without reminding you of the podcast on rape and rape laws in India. 

Doing this as a part of  "I Stood Up" Blogathon. Click the link for details.





Wednesday, July 11, 2012

That's all I am.


Thought of mom, came up with this. 


If I could paint,
I would close my eyes and think of you
Paint my memories on the easel
With colours you loved.

If I were a sculptor,
I would close my eyes and think of you
Hammer and chisel your face
And your perfect smile.

If music I could compose,
I would close my eyes and think of you
Every note would sing your praise
Never doing justice.

If I were a dancer,
I would close my eyes and think of you
My pirouette and adavus
Would all be for you.

But all I can do is write,
Close my eyes and think of you,
Fumble with words,
Struggle with adjectives.
Yet, all I can say is,
You were perfect.

Sunday, July 08, 2012

I wish I could...


I wish I could tell you everything,
My fears, my dreams, my insecurities.
I wish I could tell you everything
And show you my scars –
Some inflicted by myself.

I wish I could take you to
The deepest corners of my heart.
I wish I could sit you down
And show you where it hurts –
Pretty much everywhere.

I wish I could show you
The little tin boxes labeled with my sins.*
I wish I could tell you everything
And accept you to understand –
I know you will.

I wish I could take apart every part of me
And make you put me back together.
I wish I could I trust you enough
With all of this and more –
Not yet. Not now.

*With direct reference from Darling by K. Thanks for being an amazing inspiration.

Friday, July 06, 2012

Podcast #1 Rape and rape laws in India

This is my first ever podcast and I am very proud of it. I am not the kind to speak into an empty room but I did it and the effort hopefully comes across. I know the podcast leaves a lot to be desired but the idea is to get the information across and I have put in my sincerest efforts to do that.

Please listen to it and let me know what you think.

The links that referred to while preparing for this podcast are :



Do you have more questions on the topic, please be free to send me an email at mizarcle@gmail.com

Suggestions for the next topic of the podcast are also welcome. 

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Conversation killers

Technology has made things more difficult. People expect you to keep in touch with them all the time. First, it was okay that you called them and spoke in great detail about everything that happened in the past since-you-last-spoke-them but now, you have whatsapp everything that happens as it happens. While this is okay if you have an awesome and amazing life, if you are unemployed, bored and home, almost 24*7, you really have nothing to say, do you?

On the flip side, since I am bored and unemployed, I ping my friends all the time. God bless whatsapp and free texting. These are people that I talk to everyday and while I appreciate their effort to keep the conversation going sometimes, they can't help but fall into the rut of conversation killers. These are words that make you wonder if the person is bored, busy and trying to kill the conversation, whether they mean to or not. A good conversation is a game of catch, A throws, B catches and then, B throws and A catches and it goes on. A conversation killer is when A throws and B catches and that's that. To keep the conversation going A has to procure a new ball from somewhere and A might not have an unlimited supply of balls, you know.

I asked on twitter which words end up as conversation killers and here's a short list:

1. ":)"  - Actually any smilie will do.
2. Okay or any of its cousins, worst of all, "k"
3. Hmmmm
4. Nothing much or worse, NM - This generally follows What's up and isn't met with a "what's up" in return.
5. Lol - Come on, you can better. Tell me what you found funny or ask me what happened next?
6. Yes/ No - Similar to okay.


Most of you can do better I bet. What word irks you the most?

(Thanks, @milcom_ , @sloth13, @AnjuJaison, @paripooj , @violetcrab, @riccu for your suggestions)



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Podcast.

After barcamp, someone suggested that I do a podcast and I am taking the suggestion seriously. If you have questions regarding rape or rape laws or just have something to say, let me know so that I can answer them in the podcast.

So you can mail me at mizarcle@gmail.com with your questions and I will try my best to answer them.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Barcamp and peanut butter slutty brownies

Weekend was stressful. BarcampMumbai09 was yesterday and it was amazing. There were brilliant sessions and I gave a talk to a packed audi. It was recorded and hopefully, I shall get a video for you soon enough. Yes, I mean you, my sole reader.  The most ego-boosting experience was reading the tweets post the session. A person asked me to do a podcast on issues like rape (which is what I spoke on) and I might actually consider it. 


Another brilliant part of yesterday was that most people who had my brownies, actually liked them. (Psst: Even though they didn't come out well). I promise people I would put the recipe up on my blog. I used the recipe from PlanetByn and yes, they are called Slutty Brownies but these ones use peanut butter and hence, they are not as sweet as the original all chocolate slutty brownies. 



Peanut Butter Cookie Layer
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Brownie Layer
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
+ around 16 Oreo cookies
Directions
  1. Line a pan with tin foil and butter it so that the brownie comes out clean post baking , and preheat the oven to 350F or 180C.
  2. For peanut butter cookie dough layer, cream the peanut butter and sugars together in a medium sized bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir to combine. (Don't over mix, just combine) Mix in the chocolate chips.Be sure to mix this properly or the cookie will be crumbly and not an effective base for the brownie. Press the dough into an even layer in the pan.
  3. Add a layer of cookies on top of the peanut butter cookie dough, and press in slightly.
  4. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, then add the sugar and cocoa powder and whisk everything together to combine. Remove from heat and add salt, vanilla and eggs, and whisk in to combine. Add the flour and mix just until blended. Pour over the top of the Oreos.
  5. Bake for 35-45 minutes (mine took 40 minutes) until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
If you do try this, let me know how this goes.

I am going to start using this to bribe people.

Sorry there are no pictures. Maybe next time, I should bake with a friend.
















Saturday, June 16, 2012

Of beauty and distance.

I had this conversation of sorts with a friend and that got me thinking, "do we appreciate beauty when we are closer to the object or when we are further away?"

Somethings are better off far away. All mistakes, blemishes, faults seem smaller when you are far away. And magnified when you are closer. Similarly when you are closer to an object, there are so many aspects of a thing that you can notice that small faults seem irrelevant.

I have no answer to this yet. Will sleep on it and see what I think tomorrow morning. 

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Three shades of regret

There was something about her, you got to admit.

Today began like just another day. Who would have known it would end this way?

It was her eyes, I think. Or her smile. Maybe it was the way she played with her hair while she thought about something. But she definitely had something that made me want to go upto her.

I walked to the bus stop kicking the can all the way. Suddenly, there was a voice that caught my attention, it was the shopkeeper fighting with a customer. Mr. Baker was always a disgruntled man and I think I learnt most of my swear words, hearing him yell at others. Today too, I watched him with a smile. I heard the general string of cuss words and then, the customer slammed the door as he walked out. He saw me looking through the glass, raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't go in there, if you are smart. He is crazy old man." I didn't. I looked at my watch and realised I was late for work, I hurried. This here was my regret #1 - I didn't walk in.

I remember seeing her for the first time, not knowing what to say. Tongue-tied and sloppy. I dropped wine all over me. She made me do it, I say.


I ran to the bus stop and almost missed my bus but I made it. There wasn't time to wait or even catch my breath, as I reached work, a colleague said, "Let's leave. Emergency on PA Street."  I was surprised. " Dude, that's why I am coming from. Who is it?"  "A Mr. Baker, I believe. Heart attack, after he exchanged a few words with a customer. Come on."  I waited while he drove. It isn't easy being a paramedic on days like this. There is always a casualty and you always have to get there on time. Today wasn't one of those days, we couldn't save Mr. Baker. Even though, we tried. If only I had got there in time. This here was my regret #2 - I didn't get there in time.

Then she twirled her hair around her fingers and came and sat next to me. "Am I making you nervous?" she asked. "Yes" "Don't be. I don't bite." "I hope not." 


As we carried Mr. Baker's body back, I kept wondering the "What if"s of today. What if I had walked in then? What if I had got there in time?

Mr. Baker had always lived in his shop, said the newspapers the next day. He had a wife. I chuckled. Who would live with an ill tempered man as him? Since my childhood, I never seen Mr. Baker with anyone. I was told he got married the years that I was away at university. There was no picture of his wife.


Years later, I would tell her how she made me feel that day and she would smile. She would say, she knew I was looking at her, she liked the attention. She would make me feel like a fool, all over again. She always knew how.


I decided I would go to the funeral. I have no logical explanation for that decision but I decided I wanted to know more about this man. I had to call my mother and ask her for my suit (Hey, I move around a lot) and poured over the papers to find the details. There was only one church in town and that's where it would be on Saturday evening. I called Bob and asked him to cover my shift for that afternoon. He reluctantly agreed. This here was my regret #3 - I went to his funeral.

"What if I had never come to speak to you that day?" she asked. "I would have taken time but I would get there, eventually. You just had me under a spell. I would have you one way or another."  "Yeah right" she said. Yeah right, I said to myself.

Saturday came and I got ready. His family was in front and the church had a few people who seemed to know him. The priest called me a family man who had lived his life. A kind man even though he had a harsh tongue. He then called upon his wife to share a few words.

And then that's when I saw her. And I immediately thought, "There's something about her."

So if you really see, I regret nothing at all.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Places to drink in Chennai

The 2 years in Chennai were awesome, for a lack of a better word. This was mainly because of the amazing people I met and all the hard work put in at the university. The latter would mean meeting the former over drinks. (Sorry, family)

Since a lot of people have asked me to do this, I am going to do this.

(In no particular order)


  • Ten Downing Street - (Free diluted drinks for Ladies on Wednesdays upto 9.30pm) - Brilliant place and lovely ambiance. Going on Wednesdays ensures a lot of eye candy for men. Friend and I would go there by 7, have a few drinks by 9.30 (their watch always a couple of minutes faster than yours only on that day) and then be on the dance floor till it closed.  The place is generally filled with young college students on Wednesdays. 
  • Good place for lunch on most days. Good menu and they too have a decently priced combo.  
  • Bike and Barrels - (2 free drinks/ 1 large free drink for ladies on Thursday) - I like this place and it was almost like a second home. They have 2 sitting areas - lower and an upper deck. The upper deck is for stags - men only while the lower is for couples. Large groups can sit down as long as there is 1 female per 2 men in the group. Once, a friend and I were the only 2 females in the upper deck. As she said, "2 pairs of boobs and so many pairs of eyes on them." can get a little weird at times. But the upper deck does have a pool table in their smoking room.
  •  The nicest thing is I like about this place is the bike suspended as wall decor. Food is not too bad and they have a decently priced lunch menu, as well.
  • High Time - (20% off on all drinks between 11am to 6pm - the last time I checked even on weekends)  I haven't been to this place every often and always in the afternoon. It was new and it was swanky and more importantly, it was purple. I love the giant bottles of alcohol they have there, a 6l vodka was what caught my attention. The 'chakna' keeps coming and is not sundal, for a change. 

  • Distil - (2 free drinks for ladies on Fridays) I think I went to this place every Friday for a month. Things we do for free alcohol. The TenD routine was repeated of having the free drink and dance till it closed. This place can be filled with middle aged people looking for a drink (and there isn't anything wrong with that but the vibe can be weird) I am not the biggest fan of their decor or the ambiance but it is a good change on some days. (Why I went there 4 Fridays in a row is a mystery to me too.)

  • Havana - (Free martini for women on Thursday) I can't remember much of this place because the weird disco lights gave me a really bad head ache. But from what I have heard from friends, this place is expensive and has a really small dance floor.

  • Leather Bar - Went there once to celebrate giving my first international presentation (yes, in Chennai in front of an international audience). It was expensive and the crowd consisted mainly of corporate looking men. It also gave a slight feel of a gay pub, I remember. 

  • Geoffrey's Pub - I like the place. It is apparently an English Pub and though it is a little far away from the city bounds (i.e my house), I really like the decor of this place. I can't tell much about the prices because the only I went there was for the Kingfisher Beerup. But I know they have live music once in a while.

  • Dublin - ( Free entry for women on Friday and free drinks worth Rs. 500 - if I am not wrong) The only club in this list. It is expensive and has 3 levels. It can get crowded once in a while. I believe this is one of the few places which doesn't necessarily close at 11pm. 

  • Zara - This place prides itself as a Tapas bar and it is one of the best places in town. I prefer taking people who come from out of town to this place. It can be a little expensive but by now you have figured out that drinking out in Chennai is kind an expensive affair. It has 2 outlets and the one at the Airport is open till a good 3 am. 
  •  I love the cocktails of this place and it is a nice place to stop for lunch.

  • Star Rock - (Free domestic white liquor on Friday till 10 pm) - Interesting place. Plus they have started to have interesting stand up on Sunday nights for a cover of Rs. 500. This place has special memories, I saw India win the T20 World Cup here. 

  • Minus 1 - (Happy hours from 12 to 5pm - I think) I had to think really hard for the name of this place because I have only thought of this place as the blue bar. I have no idea why it was so blue. It was close to university (Kinda) and we went there once or twice when there was a huge break between 2 classes and you can't sit through some classes completely sober.

  • The Pirate's Bar - (Some discount if you go there before 6pm) I think this was the bar I frequented the most often. It is a little creepy and there is no reduction in prices for a lack of ambiance. But but the best thing about this place was that I could walk back home.

    Walking in as a woman could easily mean you would be the only one of that gender that. But the best part of this place is that it has no dress code.
  • Diesel - A dingy little weird place. The only reason we went there was because we wanted to be the only people there and be able to do our own thing and that's what we got. Another brilliant memory here.If I am not wrong, this too doesn't have a dress code.

  • Hotel Ranjit-  This place definitely doesn't have a dress code and let's you smoke if you are on the roof top. Service can be a little slow and if there are 12 of you, you might be asked to keep your volumes down. One of those few kinda cheap drinking places. Also it has funny sounding kebab names. 
There are many more places that you can get a drink in Chennai, of course. But these are just the places that I visited while I was there.
Having said that, the best place to drink in Chennai is to find a friend who has a club membership and is ready to take you there. (Thank, Mihir for being that friend) Also, you could buy alcohol from TASMAC and get it at home and drink in your own special ambiance. Always my preferred thing to do.


Sunday, June 03, 2012

Blank pages


This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 28; the 28th Edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The topic for this month is 'BLANK PAGES'.

There was an accident 6 years ago that had damaged Simran's vocal chords. She was 2 then. The house that was waiting to be filled with the laughter of a child was left waiting.

Simran's parents were not the kind to give up. They taught her to write and write she did. She wrote hello when she met a new person and shoved the book in their faces. She learnt to write before anyone her age, she had to.

Soon, Simran could be found at parks and museums scribbling away on her notebook, she would then run home and show it to her parents. They would discuss art and books and music. Nothing slowed Simran down. Until one day when a regular checkup, the doctor revealed that maybe a small operation could fix Simran's voice. Her parents were hopeful but they saw the fear in Simran's eyes. They asked her to write whether she still wanted to go ahead with the surgery. The page had a lone 'Yes' written on it.

The day of the operation came and it went. Nothing really has changed, Simran's zeal for life continues, you can still find her in parks and museums running back home waiting to share her discoveries and ideas to her parents. What is hard to miss is the look of happiness in her parents' eyes when they see the blank pages that follow the 'Yes' in the notebook.


The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

PS : Writing after a really long time. Be nice? 

Friday, June 01, 2012

No one reads me anymore

I don't think anyone reads my blog anymore. I don't shamelessly plug it anywhere and pour all my secrets out on twitter. Must rectify. Yes, the blog was my first love before twitter came along.

Also, what an amazingly attention seeking title, eh?

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Luci and I aren't all that different, you know.

Luci is my dog, if you didn't know. And she is quite a special little thing. Even though I have called her brain damaged, I don't mean special in that way.

So Luci is probably the most docile dogs, you'll know. A little hyper at times but never will bite you unless it is playfully and you are Shruti or me. One nasty habit Luci has is that when we take her down for a walk, she likes to egg bigger dogs. Generally, she never ever even looks in the direction of another dog but just sometimes, she will pick a fight. Shruti and I think that she knows that she can do whatever she wants and get away with it because we are always there to protect her. Nothing will ever hurt her.

I think the same about my dad.